I think this might be the longest I've gone without blogging.

Blog ennui has set in. I just have nothing interesting to share. Or anyway, nothing that I have actual time to sit down and blog about. Life has been busy. My Mom has been very sick. I have been very preoccupied.

I have been:

Traveling quite a bit to my hometown to visit my Mom in the hospital. She's been there for about a month and endured two major surgeries. She still has to heal and then she will have to endure more chemotherapy. She is not doing well and I am trying not to dwell on the negative. Nobody but God knows that will unfold but I can't help but think about the likely possibility of being without parents and grandparents. Without my Mom here I seriously worry about what will become of my family. She is our glue.

Cleaning the house. Just about daily. It's to a level of cleanliness where we are regularly hosting play dates. I will never have a magazine spread beautiful house. And there are still piles of things that I have to deal with. But, I'm getting there slowly. If only I could train the dog not to shed and the cats not to vomit.

Planning birthday parties. Every year I say we aren't having big birthday parties and every year I have them anyway. I am a big softie for my kids. Right now we can afford their birthday craziness. My big problem will be what to do with all the new presents they bring home. We donated a bunch of new birthday gifts that we rediscovered in the basement a few months ago. Toys 4 Tots benefited from our forgetfulness. Perhaps we could do that again.

Decorating my daughter's room. This is so not my forte. But, she wants to transition from a little girl's room to a big girl's room so out goes anything too girly or babyish. Goodbye pastel butterflies, flowers, and Ariel. Hello to the color red and zebra print. I'm not repainting her room. I just can't handle that right now. But, I redid a framed picture of Ariel with black and white scrapbook paper, rose appliques and her initials in red. It looks great. I also bought a red valance at Goodwill and hot glued zebra print ribbon to the bottom of it. She already has a red comforter but I found a new red and white flowered sham for $2.99 at a discount store. I still need to redo the seat of her desk chair with some sturdy zebra fabric. I also bought her some dry erase wall pops. She wants a bunk bed set too but it might take a while for us to shop around for a good quality one. I refuse to buy anything made of pressed wood or particle board anymore.

Celebrating our 15th anniversary. My in-laws stayed with the kids while we went to a hotel for a night away. We also took the kids out for a nice dinner. My husband has been my rock while I deal with my Mom's illness. I am so lucky to have him.

And that about sums up everything that's been going on.

Thankful for my Stockpile

Hubby's gone on business travel and I seem to have developed the first of many head colds of the new school year. I don't want this bit of yuckiness to hamper anything I need to get done so I raided my medicine cabinet to see what I could come up with.

I found:

A $2 bottle of Zicam chews that I picked up from the salvage store
A bottle of NeilMed Sinus Rinse that I got free from some deal at Walgreens
Generic cold tabs
Nature Made Chewable C tablets. I know I used a coupon and typed in my reward code.


So, while I'm trying not be be a stockpiler and a hoarder this is one instance where I'm glad I don't need to venture any further than my kitchen to get relief.
Maybe I should starting thinking about a soup, kleenex, and ginger ale supply for the flu season.

LIfe handed me lemons, I finally have time to make lemonade

Whew! I don't know if you noticed or not but I was gone for about a month. I went to Texas to be with my Mom while she sought cancer treatment. It's too early to tell how she's doing but she seems much stronger than last month.

I drove myself to Houston. If you read my blog you know how big of a deal that was. I was so nervous the whole time. My fears were compounded by my mom and my aunt both worrying over how I would manage the terrible Houston traffic. Turns out that I managed quite well. In fact, I have to say that I much prefer traveling by myself on long car trips as I can go for hours without a potty break. Of course, now the maintenance required light is flashing on my dashboard so I'd rather not have another long car trip anytime soon. A trip to the Midas (I have a coupon!) needs to put on the agenda.

My family flew in for the last week for which I am so grateful because I was missing them terribly. I've spent way more time away from my kids this summer than I wanted or intended to. We didn't do as much sight seeing or vacation stuff as we probably should have. But, we did go to the Space Center and to Galveston Beach where we all got nasty sunburns. We stopped by the roadside in rural Arkansas to look for crystal rocks and got eaten by chiggers. I hate to say that my favorite part of being in Texas was the 99 Cent Only store but it's true. The food deals were pretty good plus they had two kinds of Mexican laundry soap bars for 99 cents!

I'm glad to be home.
School starts in 14 days so I've got a lot to do. Kindergarten immunizations, health check ups, glasses for Big Girl, school supply gathering, and any last bits of summer fun we've left undone.
This year we did not complete any library summer reading goals. We haven't been to the neighborhood pool more than a few times and my tomatoes are dead from lack of water. But, there are more important things going on than making sure my kids get free ice cream cones and having a bountiful garden.

Right now I've got an internal debate over whether or not to step up as the new leader of my daughter's small Girl Scout troop. I just don't know if I'm organized enough or even understand Girl Scouts enough. Plus, I know how hard it is to get the few of us Moms motivated to do anything. I've seen the countless emails from the last leader begging for help. Plus, I have no idea what the next few months of my life will be like with my Mom sick. I just don't want to offer myself up and then not be able to deliver. There is already a cookie mom so I wouldn't have to worry about that part though.

I'm ready to start frugal homemaking again though. I've missed it terribly.

News with Lots of *Asterisks*

(My family in June on the Mark Twain riverboat in Hannibal, Mo)

*I am having a blissful week with my babies before they are sent back to their grandparents. This is our second day of just hanging around the house. I like it!

*My Mom had her first day of cancer treatment. I know the outlook is bleak for someone with Stage 4 Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the colon but we have hope. I will say it again- WE HAVE HOPE!

*We're still working on summer homeschooling although I've only managed it twice this week. My sons handwriting is so much better now. Hopefully he will be ready for all that writing he will have to do in Kindergarten (next month, yikes!)

*I am finishing up my back to school shopping for the kiddos. I pretty much just need one new outfit for my daughter for the first day and a few pairs of pants for my son. I found pull up jeans online at Sears for him that I may buy as he has problems with snaps and buttons.

*A lot of their "new" clothes came from garage sales and thrift stores that I've hit up here and there this summer. Last week I lucked into a quarter clothing sale at a thrift store on the way to my Mom's house. I bought a new outfit for myself, two shirts and a pair of Tommy Hillfiger capris for my daughter, and a pair of shorts for my son.

*I finally have a green tomato on my tomato plants. Way back last spring I bought an organic tomato and it was so good I kept a few seeds to plant. It took forever for them to flower so I just assumed they were a lost cause and forgot about them. I was happy when I noticed them flowering. I started cherry tomato seeds in a pot on my window to replace them with and now I'll have to find a new place to put my tall cherry babies. I wonder if they'd grow in our bathroom like our lantana does.

*I think I waited to long to take my tub of summer clothes to the resale shop. I think I'll try it soon anyway just in case. I guess it wouldn't hurt to clean out the hall closet and see if I can find an outgrown jacket or two.

*I just finished the book I've been reading for a few weeks, White Mountain Brides. I guess technically it's considered a christian romance novel but I mostly loved reading about the daily lives of three pioneer women living in 1689. I'm going to be posting it on paperbackswap.com to share.

*I've got to go make dinner now. I've been doing that here and there lately. Tuesday night I made a tofu stir fry. Last night I picked up a $5 Little Caesars because I had a throbbing head ache (I used a movie ticket stub and scored free bread sticks though). But, tonight I've found things in the freezer to bake plus I made a peach crisp. It's a little like life is back to normal. At least this week anyway.

My life is on fire & other news

Until further notice, my children and dog will be staying with my in-laws in another state. I am missing them terribly. But, I'm on the road to see my Mom so much that it just makes sense.
The final diagnosis is Stage 4 colon cancer. Standard medical practice would be to dope my Mom up with chemo in hopes of prolonging her life for a few months. We want something better than that so we're going to an alternative cancer treatment clinic sometime soon. My hopes are high but I feel so pulled in every direction. I'm alternating between feeling glad I don't have a job so I can be with her when she needs me and feeling highly put upon because everyone assumes because I don't have a paying job that I don't actually have anything else going on in my life. And also again? I really miss my kids.

I had the morning free so I ran to a few garage sales by myself. The sun was shining and it was wonderful to forget all the bad stuff for an hour or two. I stocked up on Polly Pockets and little toys to surprise my kids with when they come home again. Plus, I filled a trash bag with kids clothes for five dollars. Now I've got to go shovel out my daughter's room and maybe get rid of some of her stuff before I put in the new. I've also got to inventory and see what I need to get for back to school time while I have the chance.

If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Brother

I went to Mom's last Thursday to take her to her Dr. appointments. The doctor who did her surgery didn't seem to register her complaint about bad pain in her shoulder. On Friday we saw the oncologist. She didn't have good news for us. We're being referred to another oncologist in St. Louis. That will be easier for me since I won't have to travel so much though. But, the oncologist did take Mom's shoulder pain seriously and had her scanned in the office. Long story short, my Mom is in the hospital for a few more days getting doses of antibiotics to kill the abscesses that came from her surgery. Those abscesses could have killed her and I'm so glad that at least one of the doctor's was paying attention.

I'm home again with the kiddos for a few days. I hated to leave Mom in the hospital but I really needed to come home for a few days before I go back again. My kid need some normalcy and I can't do anything for her in the hospital. Plus, I cannot stand being at my Mom's house when she's not there. I love my brothers dearly but for all intents and purposes they live with my Mom (they have their own houses, don't ask). And one of my brothers is a huge slob with two nasty little dogs that literally urinate all over my Mom's house. He takes them on the road with him when he's he's got a load to haul but I just did not want to stay there with my kids in that mess. I love him but I got enough of cleaning up after him when I lived at home. I got my Mom's bedroom ready and all her clothes washed and put away for when she comes home.

Also, understandably my Mother's outlook on life has turned more than a little sour. But, she's so angry and snappish that I almost don't recognize her. I love her but it's hard for me to be around her for long stretches of time because she's so hateful. She apologizes afterwards but I keep wondering where my sweet Mom went. I feel like I've already lost her.

That's enough for today.

Keep Calm And Carry On

I'm not going to lie and say there weren't a few days last week that I wasn't a complete mess. Plus, I had a horrible cold and couldn't go see my Mom in the hospital for fear of making her even sicker. I spent too much money on FTD and sent her flowers/food since I couldn't visit. She's home now. (FTD btw has lousy service. I will go local next time.)

Hubby worked from home with the kiddos here so I could go by myself to see her on Monday. We worked a little on cleaning up some clutter in her room. She's wanting to declutter now if case the worst case scenario happens and my brothers and I are left me with a whole house to clean up. I took two bags of clothes to the Goodwill. The kids and I are going to stay with her soon and do some more work. We find out on Friday what her prognosis and possible treatment plan will be.
I'm praying for the best possible outcome but she's already assumed she's dying. This isn't her first bout with cancer as she was a DES baby and went thru radiation when I was two. I'm struggling with the idea of being an orphan even though I'm 38. Maybe it would be easier if I weren't so close to my Mom. Also, I worry about how my two older brothers will take her death. Neither one have families of their own.
Anyway, life has been full of stress here. Hubby's work travel just picked up quite a bit so I can only lean on him so much for support.
I can't say I've been doing much in the way of frugality. I just don't care right now. The kids and I are happy to spend our days vegging around the house and doing bit of work here and there. They've been really good kids lately and have been really great to be around.
I took this picture this morning as they did their worksheets. I only make them do about 45 minutes worth of work every morning so they haven't been too whiny. I love hearing their little pencils scratch across the page.

I've decided that worrying about what's going to happen is pointless. I need to worry about what's going on today and take of care what needs to be taken care of right now. It's all out of my control anyway. So, I'll make my kids some cookies and I'll check out that book that I've been wanting to read from the library. God knows what's going on and has a plan for us. I've got to surrender.

Found a Penny- Lose A Pound

I found my first bit of parking lot change yesterday. Add a penny to my $1000 goal.
I'm really going to have to kick in gear soon so I can start adding those numbers up. I don't think trolling parking lots is going to get us there very soon.

I started back up on Weight Watchers again. Luckily, I haven't gained much since I quit doing it a few months ago. But, I also still have a long way to go. Tonight I start going to zumba once a week again too.

Lots of other busyness here with two kid's birthday parties this month. February is craziness here.
As for Valentine's Day I don't think Hubby and I have anything planned. I don't want anything else to do right now anyway.

Can't Wait To Get Started

The virus has turned into a head cold. I'm not complaining although I want to. Mostly I'm starting to feel annoyed that I am so behind.
I got by last week because I had all our laundry caught up and put away and our grocery shopping done. Well, this week there are piles of dirty clothes to wash and we're starting to run low on food stuff.
I just want to be healthy again. My family isn't functioning so well with me not functioning so well.
Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up as Super Mom.

Sitting here alone with my cocoa

Hubby and I share most everything. And now he has passed down his nasty virus that kept him home from work all of last week. Yay!

I'm feeling a bit better little by little. Being home with the four year old was beginning to wear me thin though. I sent Hubby and the kids out for dinner tonight. And now I am missing my family and don't feel good enough to do any chores that have been piling up or any Christmas cards or present wrapping. I did about three Christmas cards today before I gave up because it was making me snarly. Not the right mood to address Christmas cards.

I'm hoping tomorrow is better. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow. The past two nights I have been up between 4:30 and 5:00 feeling miserable. I'd take a pill and then fall blissfully back asleep for half an hour before the dingity danged alarm clock went off and ruined my happiness. Children must be fed and sent to school no matter how crumby I feel. But, tomorrow morning is mine! Muahhahhhha.

I'm glad I did a shop till you drop earlier in the week right now. We have plenty of food and I am done shopping for gifts. I ended up just buying Little Debbie holiday cakes for the trash and recycling guys but since I don't actually know who they are or have a personal relationship with them, I feel that is acceptable.

I haven't heard back from the food pantry about adopting a family yet and I'm starting to worry. I started stockpiling food stuffs. If I don't hear back by next week I'll just make a lump donation to them and consider that my holiday good deed. I also have a lot of donations to make to their thrift store. So, they can make a bit of money from my donations and get out the food that I bought for the adopted family.

My kids have a date with Santa tomorrow morning. I guess I do need to get up early enough to comb the snarls out of Big Girls hair and put a bow in for her. I'm hoping they don't ask for something that I haven't already bought for them because they won't get it because I am done done done shopping.

Today I did find out that I have to bring a new ornament for a gift exchange at the next Brownie meeting. The kids got their yearly ornaments from Cracker Barrel this year for .99 cents. They have free gift wrapping so maybe I'll take Big Girl there to check them out. The ornaments have to be new with tags so I can't gift one of the cute salt dough ornaments that we made in November. They are now gracing our Christmas tree.

And now I'm going to lay on the couch like a slug and think about all the chores that are going undone and wishing my annoying wonderful family would come back because I miss them.
Tomorrow is a new day, dang it.

Back To School Slog

It's been crazy around here. This morning I finally finished filling out the mountain of paperwork for the kids schools.

I just signed both kids up for after school activities and tonight we're looking into joining Girl Scouts. Needless to say, I've been more chauffeur lately than frugal blogger.

I did hit a great bread thrift store yesterday with a rack of 79 and 99 cent bread and sweets. I put a couple loaves in our freezer. My Mom, the kids, and I hit up garage sales on Saturday. I didn't buy much but I lucked out with a giant DK/Merriam Webster's Kid Dictionary that Big Girl has been wanting. We paid a dollar for it. Dinner at home has become more of a priority too. Last night I made lasagna and garlic bread (with thrift store texas toast).

I joined two more zumba classes. The diet isn't going so great. But, I plan to keep on exercising. I may not lose weight but I know my health will improve. I can tell that my endurance is better.

My Mom is here visiting and we're rewatching Frontier House so she can see it.

Other than a date night this weekend, not much is going on.

Back on Track 15 Minutes at a Time

As much as I miss my kids, I've been looking forward to getting back to a routine so much!

I made a list of chores to do and I've been whittling away 15 minutes at a time using my Flylady timer. I know what's for dinner and I have a plan to get it cooked.

I went to Zumba last night even though I originally planned on skipping it because I just didn't feel good. I was dragging a little bit more than normal during class but I did it and kept on. While I'm not back to logging on WW online I am trying to watch what I eat. I have a small salad plate that I've been eating my dinner from and last night I went to bed hungry.

Except for spending $18 at the grocery Monday night (for milk, fruit, etc) I have not shopped this week. The kids each have a week's worth of new back to school clothes and Hubby has enough new clothes now too. No one needs anything and that's good because I don't feel like shopping. Our Discover card bill is ginormous this month because we charged our vacation, furniture, and other expenses on it. But, we'll pay it off and move forward. It's just more incentive for me to keep it in my wallet.

My timer's about to ding so I must get on with the rest of my list.

Working it all out

I did my second zumba class tonight. I can't say it's fun yet because I never was much of a fan of sweating, but I think eventually I'll look forward to my class.

Doing Weight Watchers has been bearable. I am making smarter food choices and being honest when I splurge. I lost three pounds last week. But, I can't really care too much about the actual pound loss or I'll get discouraged. Right now I'm only focused on the tasks (exercise/eating right) instead of the goal (getting rid of the clothes in my closet because they don't fit).

Not much of a frugal nature to report. I did go to Goodwill yesterday but I bought housewares instead of clothes. I found some funky 70's Sears collection towels on half price, a new Smith and Hawken fragrance diffuser and some pretty wooden candle holders to adorn our future bedroom furniture. It's getting closer to furniture purchasing time. Our finances (we're paying cash) are in order for a big splurge.

For entertainment I've bee reading Dan Ho's Rescue from Domestic Perfection. His language can be a bit salty but I find his decorating ideas refreshing. Matchy Matchy is out. Looking like a spread out of a magazine is out. It's not a book about decluttering- although some of his ideas definitely encourage paring down. He has a whole paragraph dedicated to getting rid of your garlic press since it only does one thing and a cutting board will do. The only thing I absolutely cannot agree with him on is his severe distaste for candles. I love candles. I won't give them up no matter who tells me they aren't in vogue.

Christmas 2009

This year I told Hubby that he was in charge of buying the kid's big present to put under the tree.
He bought Big Girl a Wii cheerleading game. Needless to say- he's not a big fan of plastic toys anymore. I still don't know what he'll pick for Little Guy.

I've gotten into the habit of buying up clearance toys/kid's items when I see them at a good price.
Being as organizationally challenged as I am- I haven't kept good track of what I've stored away.
So, I started consolidating my piles and have more than enough for stockings, birthday party gifts, cousin's Christmas presents, and items to put into our adopt-a-family box.
I just need to buy stocking candy. This year I think my goal is three presents under the tree for each kid- so one from Dad and two from me plus their stocking which will have candy and small toys tucked in it.

The only presents that I might actually have to Christmas shop for are my brother's gifts. Any one have any ideas for what to give the men in your life?

Right now we're all stuck at home with some sort of virus. I haven't showered in two days and the kids are finally feeling like playing together again. I know this because I keep having to tell them to quit yelling. I've been out of the house for exactly one hour this week when I had to go to the grocery store to buy things for the Thanksgiving party at preschool. A party that we didn't get to attend because we were sick. I had a healthier Hubby drop off the food and cups.
We still don't have a working computer. I'm using Hubby's work computer. We just haven't made it to the Apple store- why do they all have to be in malls?

I think while the kids are busy playing nicely (and loudly) I'll slip upstairs for a much needed shower. I'd say that being sick has saved us money but I haven't been able to use the coupons I clipped to do my cherry picking for Thanksgiving foods and the past two days have been McDonald's, Taco Bell, and BK take out. Hubby does not cook.

Two men down

This is the first time since having kids that Hubby and I are sick at the same time. Normally there is someone to take care of kids. Fever, aches, chillls, and a sick stomach- I feel so bad for the kids now that I know how bad they both felt.

You should see my house after a day of kids being free to mess and play. Scratch that. You shouldn't see my house.

And the dog ate the blueberry muffins I left on the table.

Like Hugging Fire

I apologize for being incommunicado lately. We seem to have caught a nasty virus around here and are taking turns being needy and whiny. Not much cleaning, shopping, or anything other than microwaving food and snuggling hot and sticky children. I think I'm next and I'm struggling to get that last load of laundry done and a loaf of bread made before there's another man down.

Home but not completely healed

Hubby came home yesterday. He's still not feeling good but he is on the mend. Life can return to some semblance of normal again I hope.

Not much of a frugal nature to impart except that I managed to catch the bread mark down cart at Save-A-Lot this morning before it got put out for the masses. I snagged two whole wheat loaves and one hoagie bag for $3.06. I'm tempted to go back and buy more except I don't have a lot of room in the freezer.

I haven't caught up with my coupons for about two weeks and am starting to get an itch to bargain hunt. Before he got sick, Hubby started putting together shelves in the basement for my stockpile pantry. I'm itching to start filling it with my finds.

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. It is so scary when a beloved is sick and Tylenol, soup, and rest won't do the trick.

No News.

All is still the same here. Thanks for any well wishes and prayers. They are much appreciated. While I am pretty sure that Hubby is not in any life threatening danger, having him be this sick is scary. We are definitely a matched pair and don't do well on our own.

The good news is that my Mom came and managed to sweep the toys in a pile and vacuum around them.

And I lit a oatmeal raisin cookie so it's almost like I'm sitting in a clean fresh smelling house. As I type this I am listening to the my kids and the neighbor girl jump on Big Girl's bed. So much for any cleaning I may have done in there earlier.

I think I'll be more motivated once I know I can bring Hubby home.

Banana pancakes for dinner tonight. I'll sprinkle in some wheat germ. Our diet of late has been pretty sad. At least the kids are more than happy to snack on fruit, drink oj, and eat peanuts.

Having a nice boring frugal day sounds great right now.
Instead I'm torn between wanting to spend the day at the hospital holding Hubby's hand and being the best SAHM I can be while he's ill. Instead I'm feeling guilty that I'm doing nothing well.

One step at a time.

Stress and my Financial Well Being.

One thing that I have known about myself since my Hubby's first business trip after Big Girl came- I do not want to be a single parent.

Hubby is in the hospital right now with a lacerated spleen which I am positive resulted from his last car accident. The good news is that he is healing well, most likely won't need surgery, and will probably be home in a day or two.

But, planning and cooking meals or do anything other than basic chores like dishes or laundry is beyond me right now. So, our last two dinners have been take out. Our breakfast is juice and a piece of raisin bread. I even let the kids sucker me into buying them packs of oreos and chocolate milk from the hospital cafeteria. Anything to keep them quiet and still for a minute.

So, right now I don't have a plan except to fold a load of laundry, pray, and call to check on how my Hubby is doing this morning.

Here We Go Again with the car shopping.

First of all let me say that if this is my biggest problem than I am so blessed.

Hubby got broadsided on his way home from dropping Big Girl off at school. Thankfully he was alone in the car and other than being very sore with a few abrasions he is fine. We spent the morning in the ER getting him checked out. I am so thankful that he is sitting across from me watching a Monty Python video with a dopey, drugged grin on his face. Things could have turned out much worse.

His "new" car that we bought last April (after the last car accident) is probably a total loss. I'm thinking in my head whether or not we can feasibly be a one car family for any length of time. This for sure is making public school seem more attractive since we wouldn't have to provide transportation anymore. Lots to think about, but right now I'm just so darn happy that my beloved husband is home on the couch resting and indulging in his love of Monty Python.